News

April 23, 2018

Article by: Thomas Ramsay

Good Morning All Saints’ Family,

Sunday morning was warm and sunny-spring has finally arrived! There were 13 people at the 8:00 AM service and 83 in attendance at the 10:00 AM service. It was the Fourth Sunday Of Easter, “Good Shepherd Sunday” and the celebration of Holy Baptism of Landon Daniel Miller, our newest Christian brother! The Processional Hymn was, “Jesus, Our Mighty Lord” and the Sequence Hymn was, “The King Of Lord MY Shepherd Is.” The Gospel Reading was from John 10:11-18.

‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.’

We learn from this parable of Jesus being the good shepherd of the sheep and how he takes care of them and how he seeks out other sheep for the flock. We are the sheep and Jesus is always looking over us, as he promised, and seeking more people to follow in his ways. The Hymn in Procession to the Font was, “Come Down, O Love Divine.” We welcomed Landon into the Christian faith during his baptism, but he was not a happy camper, as he was blessed with the water and anointed with oil! The Offertory Anthem was, “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need.” The Communion Hymns were, “Shepherd Of Souls, Refresh And Bless” and “Savior Like A Shepherd Lead Us.” The Recessional Hymn was, “There’s A Wideness In God’s Mercy.”

The altar flowers were given by Paul and Susan Parfrey to the glory of God and in loving memory of Evelyn Machmiller.

The Coffee Hour was bursting with energy and laughter, as our parishioners again, caught up with each other. The Coffee Hour was hosted by the Miller and Doyle families. There were cookies and pastries for all to enjoy. It was another beautiful Sunday at All Saints’ and especially a joyous one with the addition of our newest Christian, Landon!

Have a great week and enjoy the wonderful weather! Hope to see you all next Sunday.